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Q&A: Alan Howell

Alan Howell, centre, performing in Dreamboats and Miniskirts
Alan Howell, centre, performing in Dreamboats and Miniskirts

Cheryl Livingstone speaks to Alan Howell about returning to
the land of Dreamboats and Petticoats – and playing one of
the most famous musicians in the world

 

COULD YOU TELL ME ABOUT DREAMBOATS AND MINISKIRTS,
THE SEQUEL TO DREAMBOATS AND PETTICOATS?
Well, it starts pretty much off the back of the last one ending. The show ended with Bobby and Laura winning a songwriting contest with their song Dreamboats and Petticoats. They have spent a little under a year performing and making a name for themselves and being pop stars. So it picks up where you would expect the show to continue from. Bobby and Laura are trying to continue with their music career.

DO YOU NEED TO HAVE SEEN THE FIRST ONE?
No, it’s been very well put together so there aren’t any parts missing. You don’t need to have seen the first one; it stands up on its own without too many questions.

SO YOUR CHARACTER IS CALLED TONY LISTER. WHAT IS HE LIKE?
Well he is a record producer. He has worked with Bobby and Laura in the show and again previously. People who have seen the previous show will know the band The Conquests, which is Bobby’s band; they are trying to make a name for themselves as well and basically Tony walks in and gets invited by one of the characters to see what they can do and he offers them a record deal. He looks after Bobby and Laura and the band as well.

WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO THAT ROLE?
I’ve done the last two Dreamcoats and Petticoats and a show called Save the Last Dance for Me, which is from the same company. They were all written by the same people and produced by the same company and I was in both of them and so when this one came up I was very interested in seeing if there was a part in it for me. And I was very lucky that there was. I wanted to get the hat-trick.

SO HAVING BEEN IN THE FIRST ONE, WAS IT NICE RETURNING TO THE DREAMBOATS AND PETTICOATS WORLD?
It’s awesome. It’s so much fun. It’s amazing coming from the original show to this to see where it comes from. When I was doing the original, we were always making jokes about where Bobby and Laura would end up, so it’s lovely to see this is where they have gone, this is what has happened. It’s quite exciting, really.

ARE THERE ANY CHALLENGES WITH THE ROLE?
Personally, the two songs that I sing in the show are pretty testing, but I thoroughly enjoy doing them. I also have to play another role which isn’t credited. In the plot, the band go to Liverpool and they spend some time in the Cavern Club, where there are four Scouse lads who play some songs in front of them and I play one of the Scouse lads. It’s technically quite a well-known Scouse band and I have to take on the role of such a notable person in history I found it quite daunting. But hopefully I rose to it.

WHAT ARE THE TWO SONGS THAT YOU SING?
Twist and Shout and House of the Rising Sun by the Animals.

I’VE GOT THE SOUNDTRACK TO THIS MUSICAL, IT’S A BRILLIANT ECLECTIC MIX OF SONGS. HAS THAT BEEN FUN BEING ABLE TO
SING SOME GREAT SONGS?
For me, it is all about the music. I get on very well with our director, Bill Kenwright, because I have a great love for this genre of music. I absolutely adore the 50s and 60s and, during rehearsals, we talk singles and albums, vinyl and B-sides, who wrote this and who produced this; I learn a lot by asking questions. I grew up listening to all of these songs. My parents had a very strict diet of 50s rock’n’roll and the 60s beat era. Our house was always filled with music, so to be physically involved in these songs when a lot of them will never be played live by these artists again is great, continuing their legacy.
Dreamboats and Miniskirts arrives at HM Theatre in Aberdeen on Tuesday, August 18. It runs until Saturday, August 22.